For a university that appears obsessed with titles (just how many Assistant/Associate Directors does one mid-size university need), CPAM’s latest foray into faculty “honorifics”, among other things, is not only ironic but certainly an overreach.

Michele Kramer sent a letter to Kevin Crowley, Director of Communications & Public Affairs, and below are some of the points she made.

WLUFA has been contacted by a number of faculty members with regard to CPAM’s work at standardizing the university’s web pages through what seems to be a decision to doggedly adhere to CP guidelines re: “honorifics”.

While it does, perhaps, make sense for the wider world of Canadian Journalism to want to distinguish between the eight to ten years of study that medical doctors undertake and the eight to ten years of study that persons with PhDs undertake, it is confounding that the communications arm of a university would feel the same need.

CPAM’s adherence to CP guidelines in this case (i.e. professors vs. instructors) not only strips a significant portion of our Full-time faculty of their hard – earned titles, but it also makes manifest the fact that Laurier clearly has a “second-class citizen” attitude toward approximately half of its educators – its Contract Faculty – most of whom do, in fact, hold PhDs as their terminal degrees.

It seems almost contradictory that Laurier would want to publish the names of its educators in such a way that it insinuates that many students are not being taught by instructors with doctorate degrees.

Language is a powerful tool and shouldn’t be used to denigrate our University’s faculty by tossing their credentials aside as anomalies that don’t fit a writing handbook’s guidelines.